This event report demonstrates how Virgin America, the air carrier, leveraged brand advocates at the local level to help it gain a foothold at Dallas Love Field airport. View Summary

This event report demonstrates how Virgin America, the air carrier, leveraged brand advocates at the local level to help it gain a foothold at Dallas Love Field airport.

Two gates at the airport became available due to the merger between American Airlines and US Airways, with Virgin America up against local favourite Southwest Airlines to take them over.

Virgin America used a range of tactics – like a surprise plane landing and press conference, selling tickets before receiving official approval to fly and a Change.org petition – to drive buzz among its passionate advocates.

A "thank you" party for its supporters and a viral video – in the form of a "love letter" from Richard Branson – helped keep it in the news.

The efforts of the brand, and its advocates, yielded over 360 million impressions and earned media worth $25 million in just a few weeks, and helped it win the gates at Love Field.

2

How NASA mastered the social media universe

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, South by Southwest, March 2015

This event report addresses how NASA, the US space agency, has built up an army of social media advocates by holding unique offline events for users of platforms like Facebook and Twitter. View Summary

This event report addresses how NASA, the US space agency, has built up an army of social media advocates by holding unique offline events for users of platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Since 2009, the organisation has convened more than 100 gatherings for consumers at its various hubs across America, from meeting astronauts and touring facilities to watching satellite launches.

The main goal of this initiative is to connect with a diverse range of space and social media enthusiasts, who can then spread the word about NASA's work online.

These influencers are often a more reliable news outlet for NASA than the mainstream media, and even began tweeting on its behalf during a federal government shutdown.

Future-framed marketing is highly effective in generating positive product-related word of mouth (WOM) for new products. This was demonstrated in two studies: Study 1 reported a novel online field experiment on WOM behavior; Study 2 tested the proposed WOM effects in a more controlled laboratory setting on a representative sample. Results of the current research revealed that product pre-announcements significantly increased consumers’ product interest and WOM behavior. And, more so than messaging about currently available products, pre-announcements increased the favorability and elaborateness of WOM.

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Digital Word of Mouth and Its Offline Amplification: A Holistic Approach to Leveraging and Amplifying All Forms of WOM

This essay asserts that despite the popularity of digital social media, marketers should not be led astray into believing that digital WOM has replaced consumers' offline communications. View Summary

This essay asserts that despite the popularity of digital social media, marketers should not be led astray into believing that digital WOM has replaced consumers' offline communications. Smart marketers should view WOM marketing holistically and leverage both digital and offline channels to communicate with consumers in the most appropriate manner, and then rely on amplification by "influencers" - both online and offline.

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How Credible is E-Word of Mouth Across Digital-Marketing Channels? The Roles of Social Capital, Information Richness, and Interactivity

Digital communication encourages individuals and marketers to share information easily and spread electronic word of mouth (e-WOM). Yet, many people may find it difficult to judge message and source credibility. The current study suggested that receivers’ judgment of e-WOM messages stems from three key channel properties: social capital, information richness, and interactivity. The authors formulated a conceptual framework and then conducted a survey across five digital channels. Findings indicated that channel managers should design information-enriching tools if they wish to enhance channel credibility. Moreover, the study found that marketers need to distribute e-WOM via diverse and socially unrelated e-WOM sources rather than closely related sources.

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E-Word of Mouth: Early Predictor Of Audience Engagement: How Pre-Release "E-WOM" Drives Box-Office Outcomes of Movies

Word of mouth (WOM) is a potent force that can influence the success or failure of new products or services. View Summary

Word of mouth (WOM) is a potent force that can influence the success or failure of new products or services. Its power is amplified and intensified across diverse online and social-media platforms. Such "e-buzz" about movies is a prime example: Can electronic WOM (e-WOM) that takes place prior to a film's release provide an early indication of success? Replicating earlier studies in which a film's budget and a sequel were strong predictors of opening weekend revenues, the current study added to the equation online buzz variables expressing awareness and purchase intention and examined factors that contributed to higher levels of e-WOM.

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How P&G pairs size with agility to create opportunity

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Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, ANA Media Leadership, March 2015

This event report outlines how Procter & Gamble, the FMCG giant, is blending scale and agility to tap the diverse possibilities now offered by the digital marketing ecosystem. View Summary

This event report outlines how Procter & Gamble, the FMCG giant, is blending scale and agility to tap the diverse possibilities now offered by the digital marketing ecosystem.

Its “digital-first” approach to building brands requires mastering a “media machine” with infinite supply, precision targeting and growing automation.

Transferring the firm’s traditional expertise in crafting big ideas and powerful creative into the new-media space could unlock a new era for its brands.

Effectively leveraging the enhanced opportunities related to creating and delivering marketing promises to enhance both effectiveness and efficiency.

Always, the feminine-hygiene product, achieved such objectives by combining a three-minute online video with a TV spot during the Super Bowl to spectacular effect.

This article analyses the performance of several brands that have used big event marketing and finds that engaging people with the brand is crucial to meet business objectives. View Summary

This article analyses the performance of several brands that have used big event marketing and finds that engaging people with the brand is crucial to meet business objectives.

Big brands already have high awareness levels, so their event marketing should focus on sales objectives - usually through emotional brand engagement.

Creativity is important, but useless to the brand unless it leads to sales, and soft measures such as tweets, likes and sharing are not good returns.

Testing ads from 10 brands from four events and two holidays showed that the most effective ads are entertaining and trigger emotional engagement with the brand.

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Big event marketing: Super Bowl, the rules of the game

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James Miller, Admap, March 2015, pp. 22-25

This article explores Super Bowl advertising, explaining how it has changed over the last decade and describing how big brands have used their ad-spots effectively. View Summary

This article explores Super Bowl advertising, explaining how it has changed over the last decade and describing how big brands have used their ad-spots effectively.

The Super Bowl is a unique opportunity to reach over 100 million US viewers in a party setting and when the TV ads are not ignored, but are actually talked about.

The 'rules of the game' have changed, as ad prices have increased and social media has grown.

Now Super Bowl ads have their own campaign starting 30 to 60 days before airing, with trailers, PR and social outreach leading up to launch.

This approach changes the value of the ad-spot too - the 30 second spot is expensive, but in the context of a 30-60 day campaign it is good value.

12

Harrods taps the mobile-gaming addiction

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, NRF Big Show, January 2015

This event report discusses how Harrods, the iconic department store in London, is using gamification to engage consumers. View Summary

This event report discusses how Harrods, the iconic department store in London, is using gamification to engage consumers.

Mobile gaming helped the chain reach out to a new generation of younger buyers, who are generally more engaged with smartphones than TV spots and glossy print ads.

Launching 'Stiletto Wars'? - a game using a similar model to Candy Crush Saga - to coincide with the unveiling of its new Shoe Heaven department let Harrods engage a more youthful audience, secure widespread PR coverage, drive social media traffic and beat sales targets.

Another game introduced in the run up to Christmas in 2014 proved less successful, but offered valuable lessons about the role of marketing support and what fuels digital virality.

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What we know about digital, mobile and social media

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Warc Exclusive, February 2015

This article provides marketers with information and guidance on digital, mobile and social media. View Summary

This article provides marketers with information and guidance on digital, mobile and social media.

Key themes include digital marketing being mainstream; real-time marketing; mobile consumers; and the social mindset.

Digital has become mainstream, giving rise to real-time marketing, which is most effective when brands are strategically prepared to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.

Brands should adopt a 'social mindset', creating content that is shareable.

People are increasingly likely to interact with content published by brands, and the impact for brands on each platform varies by category.

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How Tough Mudder fuels word of mouth

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, ad:tech New York, November 2014

This event report explains how Tough Mudder, an endurance event series, directs word of mouth to make its events more appealing to a broader group of people - who might otherwise be put off by the challenge. View Summary

This event report explains how Tough Mudder, an endurance event series, directs word of mouth to make its events more appealing to a broader group of people - who might otherwise be put off by the challenge.

This event report outlines how brands can utilise influential ideas to make an emotional connection with consumers and so build equity. View Summary

This event report outlines how brands can utilise influential ideas to make an emotional connection with consumers and so build equity.

That requires them to tap into people's most intense emotions such as love, sex and death and to explore gut instincts.

The traditional AIDA marketing strategy may need to be superseded by an EMA approach – emotion, momentum, action.

Aligning with cultural trends can also help capture the consumer's imagination, as many seek more immersive experiences and sensory marketing grows in importance.

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Creating engagement: Depth over reach

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Omaid Hiwaizi and Dan White , Admap, January 2015, pp. 12-14

This article argues that brands should aim for deeper brand experiences and audience engagement as this is a more effective way of building a brand, and sets out a measure to compare different types of brand activity. View Summary

This article argues that brands should aim for deeper brand experiences and audience engagement as this is a more effective way of building a brand, and sets out a measure to compare different types of brand activity.

One example of a brand that uses deep brand experiences is Red Bull, which uses a distinctive marketing strategy built around interesting and inspiring events.

Moving focus to depth rather than reach demands new marketing metrics, which are by necessity more complex than reach metrics.

The value of primary and secondary impacts of brand activity is analysed using existing data from Millward Brown, finding that a depth strategy is more effective.

Both reach and depth strategies are likely to generate a positive ROI, but depth strategies create a greater and more sustainable impact by driving advocacy.

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The Value of Earned Audiences - How Social Interactions Amplify TV Impact: What Programmers and Advertisers Can Gain from Earned Social Impressions

The combined effect of using television and social media simultaneously has created an opportunity to influence a large - hitherto not well-understood - group: the "earned audience." The current research is believed to be the first to explore the value (as opposed to volume) of the "earned audience" (users exposed to Tweets about television programs and their sponsors) on the Twitter platform. View Summary

The combined effect of using television and social media simultaneously has created an opportunity to influence a large - hitherto not well-understood - group: the "earned audience." The current research is believed to be the first to explore the value (as opposed to volume) of the "earned audience" (users exposed to Tweets about television programs and their sponsors) on the Twitter platform. By examining Twitter users' behavioral and attitudinal response to television Tweets during primetime television programming, the authors of the current study found that earned audiences would take actions both related to television viewing and engaging with their brand sponsors - an untapped potential for programmers and advertisers.

21

How Digital Conversations Reinforce Super Bowl Advertising: The Power of Earned Media Drives Television Engagement

The current study investigated the interactive relationship of social-media conversation and brand television advertising during the 2011 and 2012 U.S. View Summary

The current study investigated the interactive relationship of social-media conversation and brand television advertising during the 2011 and 2012 U.S. National Football League Super Bowl championship games. The Super Bowl often is the most-watched yearly U.S. television broadcast. Results indicated that pre-game and game-day social-media conversations for advertised brands enhanced audience engagement. Television advertisements played a significant role in amplifying social-media conversations about the advertised brands. Overall, the study found evidence that the relationship between traditional television advertising and online social-media conversations was reciprocal, with both media platforms working in tandem to enhance brand engagement.

22

LEGO: How an 82 year old brand is bridging the physical and digital worlds

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Lena Roland, Event Reports, Festival of Marketing, November 2014

This event report explains how LEGO, the toy company, builds 'relationship strategies' to make the most of digital media, focussing on the areas of social, search and online video. View Summary

This event report explains how LEGO, the toy company, builds 'relationship strategies' to make the most of digital media, focussing on the areas of social, search and online video.

The three principles governing LEGO's social strategy are to recognise the social needs of the consumer, create value for them and engage in real-time.

Examples of the activity these principles have led to include robot building competitions, a LEGO stormtrooper offering free hugs for 'May the 4th' and a tribute to astronaut Neil Armstrong.

Storytelling is important to LEGO too, including 'George' a character which enjoyed a crowd-sourced global adventure and a LEGO recreation of the famous Stratos jump by Red Bull.

23

How to create a culture of risk taking: The biggest mistake may be the one you don't make

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Anne Field, ANA Magazine, Fall 2014, pp. 26-31

This article highlights the benefits of taking risks and making mistakes, and how to create a culture that fosters risk taking in order to be innovative. View Summary

This article highlights the benefits of taking risks and making mistakes, and how to create a culture that fosters risk taking in order to be innovative.

To demonstrate a commitment to the belief that mistakes are an essential part of innovation, incorporate risk taking and making smart mistakes into reward systems and individual employees' goals.

When hiring risk takers, identify the appropriate traits beforehand, use behaviour-based interviewing, watch for 'learning agility' and recruit from industries known for risk taking.

Trying out things on social media is relatively inexpensive but must be treated with care, as there can be disastrous consequences.

To reduce the chances of social media problems, team members can be taught the various types of mistakes social media marketers tend to make, including brand specific, reputational, and user error.

This article explains how social media can be used to maximise the impact of events sponsorship, using an example of when Continental Tyres sponsored the football World Cup. View Summary

This article explains how social media can be used to maximise the impact of events sponsorship, using an example of when Continental Tyres sponsored the football World Cup.

Continental Tyres was an official sponsor of the World Cup in the UK, but did not have the budget for a big ad campaign - instead it was reliant on social media.

As a majority of fans planned to follow the World Cup on their smartphones, this had a lot of potential - especially as the company had five pairs of tickets to the final to give away.

Learning from betting companies' methods of catching fans' interest during matches, Continental Tyres asked people to predict how players would perform, with questions that engaged people of different football-knowledge levels.

The Twitter campaign reached over 40 million fans in 80 million impressions and 11,000 competition entries.

The campaign successfully reached over 40 million fans on Twitter, showing that being part of the game and asking simple questions about things people are already discussing are the best ways to get people engaged.

As a rule, oral-care brands generally seek to discourage children from eating candy during the annual event.

Rather than be seen as taking the fun out of Halloween, Crest became a champion and cheerleader for consuming these treats, as the brand's real enemy was, in fact, not brushing afterwards.

A viral video where kids' sweet snacks were secretly swapped for healthy alternatives brought its fun positioning to life in an engaging way, yielding millions of hits, alongside an increase in coupon downloads and sales.